an interesting perspective

I saw this on Google News today.

Afterwards, as I further delved into the depths of journalistic output, I saw this and this.

The first article seemed to touch on a sentiment that is not often enunciated, but needs to be addressed. The war in the mideast is simply one of many opening salvo's in what will be a broad multi-cultural conflict that might take decades or centuries to resolve. (I hope so, I do not want to see it....). If the vision of a few comes to fruition, the result will make the ugly chapter of western history sometimes called the holocaust appear to be a weak spasm of nationalist angst. For some, this is an "all or nothing" conflict. Think about that. When you hear extremists say that Israel should be wiped off the map, don't be comforted by the thought that they are speaking of a small piece of land on the eastern Mediterranean, all of us are Israel, indeed whoever is not 'them' is Israel.

In the face of this, the world watches a bunch of old guys at the U.N. paly a high stakes version of bridge to see what should happen next.